MYOB Business Monitor research reveals Australian SMEs’ top 10 growth strategies for 2012

Customer relationships and business diversification were the key 2012 business development strategies for SMEs in Australia, according to the Business Monitor research by MYOB Enterprise Solutions .

MYOB Enterprise Solutions is a leading provider of business management software in Australasia.

MYOB’s Business Monitor research reveals that the most common objectives for Australian business owners in 2012 in terms of clients and revenue are to strengthen customer relationships and expand business development activity despite local economic obstacles and a volatile global economy.

While 49% of small to medium business owners are aiming for client/revenue growth in 2012 (an increase of three percentage points over the previous year), 32% hope to simply maintain their current levels and 13% are focused on minimising losses in these areas. The remainder are unsure of their goal.

MYOB CEO Tim Reed comments that customers will understandably remain the core focus for Australian SMEs in maintaining and strengthening their business health in 2012, with more than one third of businesses set to increase activity around attracting customers’ attention and building their loyalty.

SMEs are also placing importance on driving growth through diversification, which they believe will help them retain their customers’ loyalty.

Customer attraction, customer retention and diversifying their business into new areas were the key 2012 business development strategies for at least one third of the 1000+ Australian SMEs surveyed with businesswomen more focused than their male counterparts on growing client numbers and business revenues.

SMEs’ top 10 growth strategies for 2012:

Focus on customer retention strategies: 39%

Focus on customer acquisition strategies: 34%

Business activity in new markets: 33%

Number or variety of products or services offered by the business: 29%

Amount paid to staff: 24%

Sale of products/ services online: 24%

Sale of products/ services offline: 23%

Number of sales promotions conducted over the year: 22%

Number of part time or casual staff in the business: 21%

Dollar value of spending on marketing and advertising the business online: 21%

Mr Reed also believes that SMEs should broaden their horizons into new markets, and compete on a global scale where possible, providing their business with access to larger, more diverse audiences. He adds that business owners will benefit from getting their business online.

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